President Trump defended his administration after reports contradicted his claim that the decision to kill Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani was because of an imminent threat.
The Trump administration claimed that the decision to kill Soleimani was because of a direct, imminent attack against the United States. That was partially contradicted by a Monday report that showed that Trump had cleared the decision to kill Soleimani seven months before he ordered the drone strike, making the claim of an “imminent threat” questionable.
During a gaggle with reporters on Monday, Trump defended his administration and claimed his team has been consistent on the intelligence used in the Soleimani strike.
“I think it’s been totally consistent,” Trump said. “But here’s what’s been consistent: We killed Soleimani, the No. 1 terrorist in the world by every account. Bad person. Killed a lot of Americans. Killed a lot of people. We killed him. And, when the Democrats try and defend him, it’s a disgrace to our country. They can’t do that. And, let me tell you, it’s not working politically very well for them.”
He added, “So, we killed the No. 1 terrorist in the world, Soleimani, and it should have been done 20 years ago.”
Iran has vowed revenge for Soleimani’s death. The country fired missiles toward Iraqi military bases housing U.S. forces a few days after his death but did not claim any U.S. lives. Trump de-escalated tensions following those attacks and has implemented new sanctions on Iran.
Last week, the president said he believed Soleimani was planning attacks on four U.S. embassies, but Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Sunday that he “didn’t see” any specific evidence of an “imminent” attack on multiple embassies. Rep. Adam Schiff also on Sunday accused the administration of “fudging” the intelligence, while Rep. Justin Amash said Trump’s claim appears to be “totally made up.”
